Xiao Yintang’s father was Xiao Lie, the Prince of Yunzhong, enfeoffed in Yunnan.

As the heir to the princely estate, according to the law, he could not leave Yunnan without the emperor’s edict or permission. Otherwise, at minimum it would be seen as contempt for court regulations, and at worst equivalent to treason. Moreover, this trip away from Yunnan was undertaken privately, without his father the Prince of Yunzhong’s prior permission.

Three years ago, after the Young Emperor died in a hunting accident, rumors persisted that he had not died but had anticipated danger and managed to escape, living in obscurity. Because of the gravity of the matter, Xiao Yintang had been secretly searching for the Young Emperor’s whereabouts for years, but without success. Just a few months ago, he received intelligence that Imperial Brocade Guards had been frequently appearing around Quanzhou in Fujian, possibly related to the Young Emperor’s location. At that time, the Prince of Yunzhong was accompanying the court-dispatched pacification commissioner, Lord Ma, to Mengding Prefecture in western Yunnan to summon the tribal leaders of the southwest—the King of Mengmi, the King of Mubang, and others—to civilize the barbarians and spread imperial authority. The Prince was not at the estate. Fearing he might miss the opportunity, Xiao Yintang secretly sent a message to his father, then took several trusted confidants, disguised themselves, and left Yunnan overnight. After a circuitous journey, they finally tracked their way to Quanzhou, only to arrive one step too late. When they reached the seaside outside Tongjin Gate two nights ago, they found only several Imperial Brocade Guard corpses.

According to recent information, that night’s events appeared to be connected to the Golden-Faced Dragon King, who had risen to prominence at sea in recent years.

Who was the Golden-Faced Dragon King? Why was he involved in the Young Emperor’s case? Was the Young Emperor truly alive? Had he fallen into the Golden-Faced Dragon King’s hands that night, or was he already dead, and the incident merely a simple conflict between the Imperial Brocade Guards and the Golden-Faced Dragon King? These questions remained unanswered, and in such a short time, he couldn’t be certain.

But one thing was clear: at this point, even if he stayed longer, it would be of little use, and he needed to return to Yunnan as soon as possible.

Lord Ma, though nominally in Yunnan for pacification, was sent by the emperor to monitor his father’s interactions with the tribal kings, recording his every word and action, forcing his father to be respectful even to this minor pacification commissioner. At such a time, if his unauthorized departure from Yunnan were to be revealed, it would provide the court with the perfect pretext to make trouble.

According to the scheduled itinerary, Lord Ma would return to Kunming at the end of the month, and as the heir to the Prince of Yunzhong, he must be present at the estate by then. Time was running short, and he needed to leave Quanzhou for Yunnan quickly.

But after that night, for two consecutive days, Quanzhou had been under strict daytime inspections and nighttime curfews. Before Xiao Yintang could withdraw, the city was sealed and the port closed, cutting off all his escape routes.

Before leaving, he had naturally carried pre-prepared travel documents proving his false identity, which had always allowed him to pass freely before, but this time, he had been careless.

Yesterday morning, just as he was preparing to leave the city using his travel documents, a merchant from Yunnan was arrested ahead of him. The merchant protested his innocence, but the city gate guards explained that they had orders to arrest all outsiders carrying Yunnan travel documents, regardless of reason.

Why were the authorities arresting people from Yunnan who had come to Quanzhou?

Xiao Yintang deduced that the Imperial Brocade Guards had linked this incident to the Prince of Yunzhong’s estate.

This was a very dangerous signal, also showing the extent to which the emperor was now guarding against his father.

Since the travel documents were useless, he withdrew and considered other options.

He quickly thought of the ship owner he had confronted on Fuming Island with his subordinate Liu Yi.

He remembered clearly that the spoiled young man who had rushed out claimed to be from the Zhen family. Judging from the ship and the youth’s tone, this Zhen family must be among the wealthiest in Quanzhou.

Though merchants held low status, those who amassed great wealth often had unusual relationships with local officials. Some matters, impossible for others to handle, could be accomplished smoothly by such merchant families.

The intelligence Liu Yi brought back confirmed his thinking: the Zhen family had extensive connections with the prefecture government, and that young spoiled youth, named Zhen Yaoting, had lost his father three years ago and was the Zhen family’s only heir.

Like a heaven-sent opportunity, after careful consideration, Xiao Yintang hesitated no longer and decided to take the risk. He would use the Zhen family’s sole heir to coerce the Zhen family, leveraging their connections in Quanzhou to quickly leave the city and return to Yunnan.

All day yesterday, the young man had not gone out, and Xiao Yintang could not afford to delay. So in the dead of night, he infiltrated the Zhen residence with Liu Yi.

Xiao Yintang originally didn’t think much of the Zhen family—merely a Quanzhou merchant household. No matter how great their wealth, the guards they hired would likely be just for show. Unexpectedly, the Zhen family, with the elderly and the young to protect, placed great importance on security. Old Madam Hu had paid handsomely to hire a retired constable surnamed Lin from the government. The old constable organized his men with dedication, and with the recent unrest, he guarded the gate at night. Xiao Yintang found it difficult to succeed and was cautious, fearing that failure might alert the authorities. As dawn approached, he retreated to the Zhen family’s back garden, intending to withdraw first. Unexpectedly, heaven helped—early in the morning, he saw the spoiled young man come to the back garden alone, so Xiao Yintang and Liu Yi followed him.

Just now, as he was about to make his move, he saw an extremely beautiful young woman come looking for her brother. He remained hidden in the corner, quietly listening to the siblings’ conversation, and his plan became even more certain.

This Zhen family daughter was clear-headed and methodical, and the siblings’ affection seemed deep. Having captured Zhen Yaoting, having her deliver his message would be ideal.

…

Jia Fu watched as Xiao Yintang appeared without any caution, stopping before her. For an instant, her chest felt a piercing pain, her vision darkened, and an extreme sense of despair and agony, like that before death in a previous life, descended from the sky, tightly wrapping around her entire being once more.

She grasped the doorframe beside her, one shoulder leaning weakly against it. She closed her eyes briefly, waiting for the wave of dizziness to pass, then straightened her body and slowly opened her eyes.

“This is my home. Who are you? What do you want?”

She stared at him as she asked, word by word, her voice exceptionally clear.

Xiao Yintang was slightly startled. His gaze fixed once more on the face of the young woman before him, and that strange feeling in his heart grew stronger.

This Zhen family’s daughter was extremely beautiful.

The princely estate had no shortage of beauties, but it could be said that this young woman was the most beautiful person he had ever seen. Not only did her skin glow like jade with unparalleled coloring, but she also possessed a delicate quality that made anyone who saw her want to take her in their arms and cherish her. For any normal man facing such a beauty, to have certain thoughts would be perfectly natural.

Xiao Yintang naturally also enjoyed beautiful women. But he could distinguish when he should be doing what.

At such a time, no matter how beautiful, beauty was merely a tool to help him escape.

But this Zhen family daughter, just now, had suddenly caused a strange internal disturbance within him.

When she saw him, the color instantly drained from her face, her eyes widened, and that initial reaction and expression couldn’t deceive anyone, much less escape Xiao Yintang’s eyes.

She gave him an illusion, as if she had known him before and held great disgust and fear toward him. For a moment, she looked so weak she almost couldn’t stand.

But quickly, she steadied herself, and when she opened her eyes, her gaze had become clear and cold.

This was even more unusual.

A young woman who appeared no more than fifteen or sixteen, suddenly saw strangers intruding in her family’s back garden, an intruder who had struck down her brother, yet she quickly composed herself.

Xiao Yintang suddenly wanted to know if this was her genuine reaction or if she was forcing herself to remain calm.

But at this moment, he had no spare time to investigate this.

He glanced at the young man on the ground, whom Liu Yi was pointing at with his sword, then raised his gaze, his eyes falling once more on the face of the young woman before him, and said: “Now go tell the person in charge in your family that I need to leave the city as soon as possible. Once I’m safely away, your brother will also be safe. Otherwise, he will accompany me to the grave.”

…

A carriage driven by a coachman departed from the Zhen residence, with Steward Zhang and a Zhen family servant riding horses alongside. The carriage rattled along the road toward Yicheng Gate in the west of the city.

The officer on duty at Yicheng Gate today was Shi Quanyou, leading a squad of men arranged on both sides of the gate, conducting thorough searches of people leaving the city. Sedan chair occupants had to lift their curtains, porters’ baskets were prodded with knife tips, and pedestrians had to open their bundles. Amidst the shouting and swagger, he suddenly saw a carriage approaching from a distance and recognized Steward Zhang riding beside it. He called out and stepped forward to meet them. Zhang quickly dismounted, instructed the carriage to stop, and exchanged pleasantries with him. Before they had spoken more than a few words, an impatient male voice came from inside the carriage: “Steward Zhang, is there a death blocking the road ahead? Why has the carriage stopped?”

Shi Quanyou then realized that the notorious young master of the Zhen family, Zhen Yaoting, was sitting in the carriage.

This son of the Zhen family was known to everyone in Quanzhou City. He had seen him from a distance several times before, and now hearing his voice, he could tell this was indeed not a person of good character. He smiled and said: “So it’s Young Master Zhen? I’m truly sorry, but surely you’ve heard that our city has been unstable these past few days. I’m just following orders from above. Where is Young Master Zhen heading?”

Steward Zhang sighed and said: “It’s precisely because of this unrest. You know, our Old Madam is advanced in age and has many responsibilities to manage. She was already pushing herself, and with the recent events in the city, she was worried that even the ship scheduled for the end of the month might not be able to set sail. She became anxious and caught a cold yesterday, and today she couldn’t get out of bed. Yet she had important business at the Zimao Mountain estate outside the west city today, so she sent our young master in her place. Please inspect us, brother, so I can accompany our young master to go and return early. When you’re free tomorrow, I’ll treat you to a drink.”

As he spoke, Steward Zhang gave him a meaningful look, then leaned close to his ear and whispered: “Since we’ve met here, I might as well mention something. One of our ships returned at the end of last year with quite a lot of fine goods. Our Old Madam mentioned a few days ago that you and your brothers often help patrol the docks for us, working very hard. Because of many affairs at the end of last year, we didn’t properly express our gratitude. Whenever you’re free in the next few days, come by in the evening, and I’ll take you to have a look.”

Shi Quanyou was delighted, knowing he would gain a good reward. Normally during inspections, he would have let them pass without looking, but this time, with repeated strict orders from above, he dared not be negligent. He said: “I have orders from above that no matter which family is leaving, they must be inspected before being allowed to pass. Young Master Zhen, please excuse me.” With that, he walked to the carriage, pushed open the door, and looked inside. To his astonishment, he saw the Zhen family’s young master leaning crookedly against the seat back, his hair not properly combed, half of it falling, his fine clothes in disarray. In his arms sat a woman with whom he was being intimate, his face buried in her shoulder, only his forehead visible. The woman had her back to the door, her jet-black hair gleaming, her collar somewhat disheveled, revealing a patch of snow-white nape. Though he couldn’t see her face, just looking at that section of her neck and back was enough to evoke endless imagination.

Shi Quanyou’s eyes suddenly fixed, and he dared not look more closely. Coming to his senses, he quickly closed the carriage door and collected himself, thinking that he had heard the Zhen family’s son was always dissolute, and seeing him today proved it true. Even when going out to handle business, he didn’t forget to enjoy himself on the way. How fortunate he was to be born into the Zhen family to have such a life. Thinking of his daily toil, merely earning enough to eat, he sighed inwardly at the unfairness of life, then signaled his men to make way.

Steward Zhang bowed to him in gratitude, then called out, and the carriage continued forward, passing through the city gate.